Australian Affairs: Seduced. Carol Marinelli

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ was sitting on the floor of Marnie’s bathroom with his hand wrapped in a towel and he was holding it up.

      ‘You don’t have a bath to sit on,’ was the first thing he said, and Marnie managed a smile as, first things first, she washed her hands.

      ‘It was the first thing I noticed about the place too.’ Marnie knelt down beside him and gently pulled down his arm.

      ‘Sorry about the towel.’

      ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Marnie said.

      ‘I made a mess in the kitchen.’

      ‘Ronan, stop.’ She unwrapped the towel and Marnie, who was very used to looking at injured fingers, surprised herself by feeling a bit sick when she examined Ronan’s cut. Marnie blew out a breath as she saw the white of Ronan’s partially severed tendon as he attempted to move his finger.

      ‘Don’t try to do anything for now,’ Marnie said. ‘I’ll put a dressing on it and we’ll get you to the hospital.’

      She went to the kitchen and it was a bit of a mess with Ronan’s blood, as he’d said. She reached for a glass and took two long drinks of water then refilled the glass.

      It was ridiculous really, Marnie thought. There wasn’t a single thing at work that made her feel faint but as soon as it was family, it was a different matter entirely.

      She stood, remembering the nurses insisting she wait outside as they stuck another needle in Declan…

      Not now!

      Marnie tipped the water down the sink, got out her first-aid box and headed back to Ronan. She sorted out the wound, wrapping the injured finger in a saline dressing and bandaging it, then applying a sling, before she got him into the car and headed to the hospital.

      ‘It’s bad, isn’t it?’ Ronan asked, as Marnie concentrated on driving.

      ‘I think you’ve done your tendon,’ she admitted.

      ‘That can be fixed, though, can’t it?’

      ‘Of course it can.’ She glanced over and smiled but said nothing more just yet. Ronan’s tendon could certainly be fixed but it would take a lot of time and patience to get back the function that Ronan had had.

      She wished that Harry was on tonight.

      The department was quiet and Marnie took Ronan straight through and into a cubicle, where she told him to lie down.

      ‘I don’t need to lie down,’ he said, then changed his mind. He was tall and geeky and didn’t try to hide it, and Marnie loved him for it. ‘I do feel a bit sick.’

      ‘I know,’ Marnie said, because the phrase ‘as white as a sheet’ could have been coined just for Ronan—Marnie was quite sure that had he not lain down when he had he would have passed out.

      ‘Can a have a glass of water?’

      ‘Nothing.’ Marnie shook Her head. ‘You can’t have anything till a doctor’s seen it. Just wait there and I’ll go and get you registered and then…’ Her voice trailed off as the curtain opened and Harry walked in.

      ‘Harry!’ Marnie couldn’t quite believe that he was here—especially since she’d seen him drive off.

      Harry couldn’t quite believe it either. He’d got five minutes down the road, feeling as guilty as hell for saying no to Marnie’s brother, when his phone had rung with the news from his mother that Adam was coming out in spots.

      Harry had pulled over and sat with his head in his hands, listening to the sound of the traffic whizzing past.

      Of course, if Adam had them, then Charlotte would get them soon.

      Something had to give and at that moment it did.

      Adam was fine when Harry rang back—he was the centre of attention for once when usually it was Charlotte.

      ‘He’s tired, though,’ his mum explained. ‘I was just going to put him to bed. Why don’t you stay here tonight? It would be a shame to wake him.’

      Harry hesitated. He had been about to say yes, but at the last moment he asked his aging parents for yet another favour.

      For the last time.

      Sure, he’d need them in the future, Harry didn’t doubt that, but the madness had to stop and so he had ended it.

      ‘Marnie.’ He gave her a tight smile and then aimed a much nicer one at Ronan. ‘So, I hear that you’ve cut your finger, cooking.’ Harry helped Ronan out of the sling and when he saw the neat dressing he made a wry joke about Ronan’s big sister having a fully equipped first-aid box.

      ‘Yeah, well, she might have a well-equipped first-aid box but she doesn’t have a tin-opener,’ Ronan said, as Harry washed his hands and put on some gloves while Marnie removed the dressing.

      ‘I do have tin-opener,’ Marnie scolded. ‘Just because Mum keeps hers in the second drawer, you didn’t think to look in the third.’

      Harry grinned to himself at the good-natured banter between brother and sister and then he came over and carefully examined the wound as well as testing for sensation in Adam’s finger. ‘You’re a pianist, Marnie tells me?’

      ‘I’m a computer programmer,’ Ronan said.

      ‘Well, you’d need your fingers working for that…’ Harry opened a needle and checked Ronan’s sensation more thoroughly as Marnie stood wondering if Harry was thinking he’d been brought in under false pretences.

      ‘He’s a very good pianist,’ Marnie said. ‘I didn’t mean to make it sound like he was a maestro.’

      ‘You didn’t,’ Harry said. He looked at Ronan. ‘I’m sure you’ve realised that this injury is more than just a straightforward cut that can simply be stitched.’

      ‘I pretty much knew straight away,’ Ronan said. ‘Will I still be able to play?’ he asked, and Marnie found she was holding her breath as Harry dealt with the issue that she hadn’t been able to talk about during the journey to the hospital. ‘I mean, will I still be able to play at the level I was?’

      ‘First I have to do my part,’ Harry said, ‘then the rest is going to be up to you.’ Harry was honest. ‘You’ll be in a splint afterwards and looking at a lot of hand therapy. It’s early days yet. For now we have to repair it and then see where we’re at.’

      ‘Harry’s an amazing hand surgeon,’ Marnie said. ‘You couldn’t be in better hands.’

      ‘Excuse the pun,’ Harry said, and Ronan gave a pale smile, then Harry went through more of what Ronan could expect. He was very calming—even as he discussed the extensive rehabilitation ahead. ‘Right, we’ll get you around to our minor theatre. The tendon’s still partially intact so I’ll be able to do it under a block, but first I need to go and get something to eat as it might take a while.’

      ‘Can I have a drink?’ Ronan asked.

      ‘Sorry,’ СКАЧАТЬ